New Vocal and EQ PlugIns. WOW, will YOU sound great!
Posted: November 10, 2016 Filed under: Pro Tools Software, Studio Equipment | Tags: Aphex Aural Exciter, Lexicon Reverb, The Fly III, Waves HEQ Hybrid Equalizer Leave a commentLet’s start with this piece of amazement, the Waves HEQ Hybrid Equalizer:
Waves HEQ Hybrid Equalizer At Work In A Nashville Trax mix
This is the $300 TDM version, and worth every cent.
Basically it will analyze the frequency response of a track and give the engineer a visual as he EQ’s it in real time. The yellow line is pre-EQ, the blue is post. The advantage over a regular analog or digital EQ? Instead of relying on your ears, you can see what is going on, see what needs to be cut or boosted, make the tweak, then get additional visual verification that you’ve achieved your goal.
Either that or it calculates how to get that insect DNA out of your body before you turn into The Fly III.
But I think it’s an EQ.
And here’s another piece of total greatness:
Aphex Aural Exciter
I must admit this isn’t my first Aphex relationship. (That sounds just plain weird doesn’t it?) We had the original Aphex Aural Exciter, the analog physical version, in our rack nine years ago. I loved that little guy but when we went to Pro Tools HD and started mixing in the box, the Aphex was no longer able to be utilized, so we sold it.
But appropriately, on Halloween Eve it’s back from the dead in software form, ready to add sparkle to any track it’s needed on. It may say “Vintage Aural Exciter” but at first listen there was no question it’s an emulation of the Aphex.
I don’t care who you are you have to love an aural exciter on drum overheads. But it will work on many track types anytime a mix is too bottom end heavy. Apply it judiciously and it balances out the lows with quality high end.
And here is our new Lexicon Reverb, part of a $600 bundle that includes everything from concert halls to tiny rooms:
Click here to see the rest of this post about our new Lexicon Reverb. Also learn more about our Tube Saturation Software for vocals and how it might help make your vocal track sound sensational!
More New Nashville Trax Plug ins
Posted: November 21, 2013 Filed under: Studio Equipment | Tags: Alti-verb, Antares pitch correction, Lexicon Reverb, Tru-verb, Vocal Tube Saturation Leave a commentAnd here is our new Lexicon Reverb, part of a $600 bundle that includes everything from concert halls to tiny rooms:
Lexicon Reverb in action at Nashville Trax
Reverb is one of the more important mix effects and Lexicon verb is the best on planet earth. This is rich, clean, spacious. When I first heard it a wave of contentment washed over my body. (Or maybe I peed myself in all the excitement, lol, not absolutely sure, but I don’t think so).
One thing I am sure about, the Lexicon bundle will raise the mix bar around here even higher.
Vocal Tube Saturation in use on a Play It Again Demo… well, demo!
The above is designed for lead vocal tracks with the intention of imparting tube warmth and saturation to digitally recorded tracks; and man, it does the trick, no doubt. You can dial in just the right amount of tube warmth and/or tube saturation to add a pleasant little buzz to the vocal track.
Tube pre-amps and/or old multi-track tape recorders can be purposefully pushed into distortion but with the digital recorders almost all studios use these days, the signal is either on or off, push them into the red and the sound becomes harsh.
I wouldn’t pull this out for every song or every vocalist, but there are plenty of times I wished for the warmth of tubes or some slight clipping to give vocals that warm fuzzy edge. Now instead of “I wish I could,” it’s “can do.”
To all this, add several just-acquired types of Antares pitch correction, Antares vocal effects, Tru-verb, Alti-verb, harmonizers and more…. basically, we’re stocked to the ceiling and stoked to the rooftop, ready to make your songs sound fantastic!- b.e.
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